


The Games

by orphan_account



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, Dystopia, Friends to Lovers, Gangs, Gangsters, Hospitals, Multi, Social Hierarchy, Training, Weapons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-08
Updated: 2016-04-19
Packaged: 2018-05-31 22:33:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 5,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6489970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When everybody has strong incentive to win, only the forces of nature can determine the outcome.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The One Where The Teams Are Reformed

Guns were shooting. People were dying. The sun set as fast as the bodies fell.

 

One day after another, warring on and on. Fueled by the bestial desire to kill, or perhaps just the primitive urge to live, the gangs of Magnolia were clashing against one another. 

 

\--

 

“Natsu, when will you finally learn not to take such risks?” A blue-haired girl sighed exhaustedly as she gently wrapped up his wounds. She wiped her gleaming forehead with the back of her hand.

 

“I’m sorry, Wendy,” Natsu glanced up at her, dark eyes shining. He had decided to go out of headquarters, but his plans had been ruined after an encounter with Lamia Scale’s Jura. Their fight had ended up in a draw, but Jura had stolen all his things before he left.

 

Wendy smiled wordlessly, continuing to dress his injuries, but it didn’t take a genius to see how forced it was. 

 

“Okay. When I'm done, we can go join them at the meeting downstairs."

 

\--

 

At the Fairy Tail headquarters, Makarov was holding a meeting regarding the annual… Games? He usually just referred to them as the Games, as there wasn’t really an official name. It was a grisly affair, a mandatory event held to determine and gauge the strength of each gang. Makarov was against the Games, as it ended up becoming a bloody mess almost every year, but he had no real way to stop them.

 

“I hate to break it out to you brats, but this year’s rules have changed. Instead of the group choosing who they want to send out to fight, the matchups will be determined by the viewers,” Makarov announced. “I don’t know which sick fucker from the Council decided this, but it’s going to be this way.”

 

Everybody groaned. However, they all knew better than to defy the Council, the ruling power in Magnolia, composed of the most powerful members from each gang. Every year, there would be people selected from the guilds moving into the Council. 

 

“I’m going to change up the formation of our teams for this year. So, without further ado,” Makarov continued, not allowing any room in between his sentences for interruption, “Fairy Tail A will be comprised of Natsu Dragneel, Erza Scarlet, Wendy Marvell, Gajeel Redfox, and Laxus Dreyar. Fairy Tail B will be comprised of Gray Fullbuster, Freed Justine, Mirajane Strauss, Juvia Lockser, and Mystogan. If you have any further questions, talk to me privately. Dismissed.”

 

Everyone was left slack-jawed as they watched the gang’s leader walk away towards his personal office, before shutting the door. 

 

\--


	2. The One Where Sabertooth Is Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sabertooth is training for the Games. Everybody is exhausted from overexertion and overworking themselves.

Sting scowled, as seemingly endless waves of attackers rushed forth towards him. He belonged to the most powerful gang, Sabertooth, and the leader, Jiemma, made sure to imprint that message into his mind every day.

 

Training had been especially tough these days since the so-called Games were coming up. He was put against opponents that were testing everything he had to give from Jiemma’s personal group of bodyguards. And Jiemma made sure to keep track of Sting’s progress, and if he didn’t show any improvement- he would be exiled from the gang or possibly killed. 

 

“Faster, Sting!” Jiemma bellowed from the sidelines of their training grounds. “Faster, or you’ll regret it.”

 

Sting grit his teeth and pushed himself to fight harder, sweat dripping down his exhausted body.

 

\--

 

Rogue had finished his training a bit earlier that day, so Minerva let him go back home. He packed up his possessions and headed back to his and Sting’s living space, which was located in the first floor of the Sabertooth building.

 

Rogue sat down on their bed, hissing when the blankets grazed an injury he had obtained a day ago. But a smile appeared on his face when their cats, Frosch and Lector, pounced onto the bed and into his lap. 

 

“Hello, babies,” Rogue sighed, eyes softening. “Were you good today?” He held them both, stroking their fur gently.

 

Frosch meowed in response, nipping at his hand. Lector didn’t spare him a glance, but still leaned into his touch. 

 

Rogue chuckled. “I’ll take that as a ‘yes,’ then.” He got up, letting the cats go, and refilled their food and water dishes, before changing into more comfortable clothes. He then headed to the bed.

 

_ Maybe I’ll take a nap _ , Rogue thought, before lying down on the bed and succumbing to sleep. When he woke up again, the skies were dark, and Sting still wasn’t home yet. 

 

Rogue yawned, stretched his sore arms out, and glanced at their old wall clock.  _ 9:44 _ , it read. He furrowed his eyebrows.  _ Sting should be back home by now,  _ Rogue thought, sitting up.  _ Is he still training?  _ He stepped out of their room, shutting the door behind him. 

  
  


As he walked down the dimly lighted hallways, he ran into Yukino, who was just about to go into her room. She looked drained, her skin and hair grimy from whatever she might have had to do at training that day. 

 

"Rogue," Yukino rasped, before harshly clearing her throat. She turned her head towards him. "Are you looking for Sting?"

 

"Yeah," Rogue said, eyes downcast. "Do you know if anything happened to him?" Fear writhed within him when that sentence came out of his mouth. His hands were moist with cold sweat. 

 

Yukino paused, pursing her lips. 

 

"God, something happened to him, didn't it?" Rogue's eyes widened in panic. "I-"

 

"-Rogue, he's at the infirmary right now. I just finished treating him. Don't worry, he's fine now. You can bring him home," Yukino sighed, running a hand through her matted white hair. "Go find him now, I want to get some rest. See you tomorrow, Rogue. If you need anything, I'm always here." She quietly stepped into her room and shut the door.

 

Rogue rushed as fast as he could to the infirmary, slinking along with the dark shadows on the walls. His mind was conflicted over how bad the damage was. When Jiemma got angry, he could be ruthless in punishment. On the other hand, Jiemma couldn't have hurt Sting too bad, as the Games were coming up, and he had to make sure that Sabertooth's members were in top condition.

 

He slinked into the infirmary, gently shutting the door behind him. Rogue wrinkled his nose at the smell of disinfectant. He gazed down the rows of beds. Most of the beds were empty, bedsheets crisp and folded. At the end of the room, there was a dim light turned on sitting atop a small nightstand. There was somebody sleeping in the bed adjacent to it, and a familiar head of blonde hair stuck up from underneath the thin blankets. Rogue held his breath as he walked toward that bed, steps gradually quickening.

 

Rogue sat next to the bed, sucking in a breath. He got closer to Sting, observing his face. There were a few bruises and scrapes, but nothing obvious that would take more than a day or two to be forgotten about. Rogue sighed, shutting his eyes and resting his head on the bed. He didn't want to awaken Sting, but he also wanted to take him back to the privacy of their room. So he waited there, listening to Sting's even breathing. He wanted to be there so he could protect him even if Jiemma tried to harm him again. Rogue didn't even know what exactly happened, and he wanted to believe that it was because of Jiemma. Anger bubbled up inside him as he recalled things Jiemma did to everybody in the gang as "punishment."  _Yes,_ Rogue thought.  _It was probably because of that bastard. He did this to Sting._

 

After a long time, or perhaps a short amount of time that just decided to drag its feet in the doldrums, Rogue fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the feedback!
> 
> *Due to some confusion among readers, I'd like to note that there is no magic use in this AU. Sorry for not being clear about it.
> 
> \--
> 
> Next chapter might be Sabertooth-centric, but I haven't decided yet. Maybe you guys could help me decide ^^.


	3. The One Where Sting Wakes Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 80% Stingue, 20% Gratsu ;P

 

Sting groaned, eyes flinching at the blinding rays of daylight seeping through the slats of the infirmary blinds. 

 

He then immediately turned to the side, realizing that Rogue was next to him, restlessly sleeping and murmuring things as he slept. Most of Rogue’s body was sitting in the chair, but his head and one arm was resting on Sting’s bed. It looked extremely uncomfortable and Sting winced, thinking about the sore neck Rogue would inevitably have. He decided to wake Rogue up. 

 

“Hey,” Sting murmured softly, gently tugging on Rogue’s hand. “Get up, idiot, were you here the whole night?”

 

_ “Mmm… Don’t… Jiem-Jiemma,”  _ Rogue suddenly uttered, weakly raising his hand and bringing it down on Sting’s leg. He was still asleep, however, as his eyes were still clamped shut. Sting raised an eyebrow, confused. 

 

_ Jiemma? Is that who he thinks I am?  _ Sting thought, feeling slightly disturbed by this. Seeing as Rogue still wasn’t awake, he decided to try again.

 

“Rogue,” he said, this time a little louder, but he kept himself quiet enough so that nobody would hear. God knows he didn’t need Jiemma or one of his lackeys to show up in there now. “Rogue, wake up. It’s just me, Sting.” 

 

_ “Jiemma, don’t take him…”  _ Rogue muttered, eyebrows furrowed.  _ “Don’t take him! S-Sting… don’t… go…”  _ His hands clenched, forming fists.

 

Sting was extremely creeped out at this point. 

 

“ROGUE.” Sting grabbed Rogue’s shoulder, shaking it. 

 

Rogue jolted awake, sitting up straight in his chair. “Wha- What?” He faced a concerned-looking Sting. “You’re awake now,” Rogue stated the obvious. 

 

“Yeah,” Sting replied dumbly. “You’re crying, Rogue.” He reached out with his unbandaged hand and swiped the stray tears off of Rogue’s face.

 

“I am?” Rogue muttered. “Oh, I am.” He lowered his head in embarrassment, his bangs covering his face.

 

“What are you thinking about?” Sting reached down and tilted Rogue’s chin up gently. Usually he wouldn’t be so touchy with Rogue outside of their room, as Jiemma was never to find out that they were in a relationship. 

 

Rogue shook his hand away, giving him a look, telling him  _ not now _ . “I was thinking about… I don’t know, maybe it was a nightmare…” The two were silent for a while, before Rogue spoke up again, this time with more force. “What the hell did Jiemma do to you?” Rogue narrowed his eyes, maroon eyes darkening. 

 

“He was in a bad mood yesterday, that’s all. I didn’t meet his dumbass expectations, so he extended my training,” Sting grumbled. 

 

“That doesn’t mean you’d end in  _ here _ ,” Rogue growled. "You’re strong, Sting. I know you are.”

 

“He… He took my weapons and made me fight for a while longer without them. I know I could have taken them out, I was just… Tired. It was late, and I wanted to go home,” Sting sighed. “I was being stupid, Rogue, please don’t take it out on him. As much as I would like to see a new leader move into position, now’s not the time, it seems. I don’t want you to get hurt at a time like this.”

 

Rogue glanced at the clean hospital beds.  _ Someday I’ll kill him.  _ It wasn’t just because of what happened to Sting last night. It was because of everything Jiemma had ever done wrong to them, starting from when they joined Sabertooth to now. 

 

_ But I’ll hold off for now. _

 

Rogue turned to face Sting, stoic facade indifferent as ever. “Come on, I’ll take you home now, and I’ll redress your wounds there. Also, Lector and Frosch really miss you."

 

\--

 

It had been a day since Makarov revealed the new “rules” of the Games, and Gray couldn’t stop worrying over possible scenarios that could come out of them. 

 

He was sitting inside of his studio apartment, polishing weapons with Natsu.  _ What if I get pitted against Natsu? Or somebody else from our own gang?  _ Gray fidgeted. 

 

“Gray, is there something wrong?” Natsu questioned. “You’re… Weirdly quiet today.”

 

“It’s nothing,” Gray murmured, smiling at Natsu reassuringly. 

 

“Oh, o-okay,” Natsu smiled back, refocusing on the dagger he was sharpening.

 

“After this, do you want to go train with me?” Gray asked, changing the subject. 

 

“Sure thing.”

  
\--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter might be centered around another pairing from Fairy Tail, or I might just keep writing about Sabertooth. Suggestions from you are very welcome! ;P
> 
> \--
> 
> Thank you for the feedback!


	4. The One Where Erza Sneaks Into Jellal's Apartment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erza just wanted to visit.

Erza gently slung an arm around Jellal’s waist, turning her body to face his. Jellal muttered something unintelligible, eyebrows furrowing, before relaxing again. 

 

She smiled at this, holding back the urge to giggle. “To think, such a powerful man like Jellal could act like  _ this _ ,” Erza murmured to herself. “So  **cute** .” 

 

Jellal grimaced for a moment, before snapping his eyes open. “W-Wha…? Oh, you stayed over last night, Erza?” He looked up, directly into Erza’s chocolate brown eyes. “I don’t remember that happening, but good morning nonetheless.” 

 

“Good morning to you, too, Jellal,” Erza replied, smiling at him.

 

Kissing her softly on the lips, he said, “I’ll go make us some breakfast now. You can stay in bed if you would like.” Jellal got off Erza and stepped out of the bed, yawning. He ran a hand lazily through his messy blue hair as he stepped out of the small bedroom.

 

Erza sighed as soon as he exited the room and entered the even tinier kitchen. It was another day, and Jellal was still there, within reach of her. 

 

_ It was only a matter of time before that would no longer be true _ , she thought, paranoid. Their relationship was restricted as it was definitely not allowed for inter-gang relationships to exist in their world. 

 

_ Yet, Erza. Not yet.  _ She mentally scolded herself. They had grown up together, but they were always somewhat separated by  _ something _ . For one, although they attended the same school during their childhood, they were always kept separate and were only able to talk in secret places because they weren’t part of the same social caste. She chuckled to herself quietly, thinking about a very small and short Jellal and an even smaller and shorter Erza hiding out under a large banana leaf from the rain, chattering away together.

 

Young love. Granted, it was very young love. But still, if only things were only that simple now.

 

Erza herself had been from relatively high descent, while Jellal was from a lower class family. In the end, they both joined (or in Jellal’s case, created) gangs. Her family had been furious, and Erza frowned, thinking of the past memories. Once somebody joined a gang, they became a part of one of the lower social castes, one specially reserved for gang members. Erza had lost contact with Jellal several years before she joined Fairy Tail. But by coincidence, she had run into him sometime last year, and they began to meet in secret together again- just like old times.

 

“... she snuck in?” Erza’s train of thought was interrupted by the conversation going on outside. 

 

“I’m not sure when she did, but yeah,” replied Jellal. “Hold on, guys, I’m going to call her to breakfast.”

 

She heard him approach, and burrowed herself in the blankets, feigning sleep. 

 

“Erza?” Jellal asked, peeking in the room. He stepped in, and Erza grinned like an idiot, hearing Jellal ask himself out loud whether or not he should wake her up or not. 

 

From out in the kitchen, a low voice- Ultear’s- shouted out. “You dumbass, man up and wake her up! If you can haul  _ us  _ up in the morning, you can at least wake your freaking girlfriend up!” 

 

Jellal yelled a profanity back at her, and Erza couldn’t help but laugh at that. She sat up in the bed, shaking with laughter. 

 

“Whatever freaky shit you two are doing in there right now, can you at least keep it down a little? I’m trying to eat here, Jellal!” Ultear barked at the direction of his bedroom.

 

Jellal rolled his eyes at Ultear’s remark, but his cheeks were red with embarrassment. “Want to eat breakfast now? I made pancakes.”

 

Erza nodded. “Yeah. Afterwards, I have to go, though.” Seeing Jellal’s expression, she continued. “I’m sorry, babe, I’m on a tight schedule these days. You know, with the Games coming up and… yeah. I’ll try to come back and visit you at night after training if I can, okay?”

 

Jellal shook his head. “You’ll need your rest after training. I know how bad the Games can get, especially now with the new rule changes. But first, come on, let’s go eat. We can talk there. And then, you can leave.”

 

“Y-yeah,” Erza replied, getting to her feet.

 

\--

 

“Gray! You’re leaving your defenses wide open when you do that!” Natsu yelled. 

 

“S-sorry,” Gray uttered, just barely dodging one of Natsu’s attacks. 

 

Natsu, seeing that Gray’s movements were getting a bit sluggish, decided that they would take a break. “Come on, let’s go rest for a bit, Gray.”

 

Gray looked like he wanted to protest, but he eventually set down his sword and nodded. 

 

“I’m tired,” Natsu lied, sitting down on a bench on the side of the training room. “Let’s sit for a while and watch the others practice. I want to see if that bastard, Gajeel, has improved to become an opponent worthy of me,” he joked, handing a bottle of water to Gray. “Do you want to stay in here, or go with me?” 

 

“I’ll stay here,” Gray replied, glancing at the others in the room who were practicing their hand-to-hand combat. 

 

“Suit yourself,” Natsu stated, walking toward another room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be Sabertooth-centric.
> 
> \-- 
> 
> Thank you for the feedback!


	5. The One Where Sting and Rogue Receive Bad News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And Sting thought he was having a bad day.

“Do you really think you’re going to beat all those other trash gangs with that, Sting?” Jiemma berated him, arms crossed and eyes narrowed. “You’re pathetic. Try again, and this time, actually go for the kill, won’t you?”

Sting growled. If that was what he had to do to end this, then that was what he was going to do. He launched several daggers at his masked opponent, who took them all without a sound. The sickening smell of blood permeated the air, and Sting felt sick. He stared at the man, who had fallen into a small puddle of his own blood, blades still sticking out of him. 

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Jiemma’s voice came from behind him. “Go get your weapons.”

Sting nodded stiffly, before walking over to the man and quickly removing the blades, brusquely rubbing the blood off on the man’s clothes. He decided he was going to clean them off well later.

“You can go home for today,” Jiemma gruffly stated, gesturing towards the exit. “Minerva told me Yukino wanted to see you.” And no funny business. I’ll know. Jiemma’s gaze warned Sting. “We’re going to be at the seminar room for a meeting tomorrow morning at five. Don’t be late. Also, tomorrow, you’ll be training with Rogue.” 

Sting’s heart sunk at that statement. 

“Now get out of my sight,” Jiemma grumbled, glaring at him.  
Sting wordlessly grabbed all his things and rushed out of the room. He walked quickly towards Yukino’s room, knocking slightly harder than he should have when he arrived at the door.

Yukino opened the door, gesturing for Sting to come in. Sting stepped into the small room, almost a carbon copy of his own room, and sat on a wooden stool in the kitchenette. “So why did you call me over today, Yukino?” 

“Can we…” She fidgeted nervously, shifting around in the foldable chair she sat on. “What do you suggest we do about Jiemma after the Games are over?” 

“What do you mean?” Sting looked puzzledly at her.

“I mean,” Yukino fretted. “Aren’t you fed up with his treatment towards us? I’m going insane with this training. It wasn’t this hard last year, or the year before that.”

“How? Even if we wanted to take him down, we’ve really never seen the full extent of his power. What if we can’t take him down, and what happens if he wins?”

“I know there’s always a chance that we’ll get defeated, and then he’ll either kill us or treat us even worse than he already does, but…”

“But what?”

“We really don’t have any other choice, do we? If we defected and left the gang, we’d get hunted down and killed by Jiemma. Either that, or we’d be killed on the way out by all the other gangs targeting us. No matter how strong we are, we can still get outnumbered.”

Sting sighed. “This is really sudden, coming from you, Yukino. I don’t know, I’ll talk to Rogue later about that.” He groaned, thinking about training with Rogue tomorrow. 

“What’s wrong?” Yukino inquired. 

“It’s nothing,” Sting assured. “See you tomorrow, then. I’m going to go to my room now.”

“O-Okay,” Yukino replied. “See you later.”

\--

Minerva was training Rogue abnormally hard today, and she used every threat she had to get him to keep training. 

Their air conditioning system had broken down earlier that day, and the sweat trickling down Rogue’s face was blurring his eyesight.

“Faster, Rogue! Your movements are getting sloppy!” Minerva commanded, gesturing for more opponents to come onto the training grounds. 

Rogue tried to steady his breathing. He was blindly slicing through the oncoming enemies at this point. A couple of the stronger opponents managed to wound Rogue, which was surprising to him. When at last, he was the last man standing amongst mingling pools of blood, he allowed himself to collapse. 

“Ugh, Rogue, get back up!” Minerva yelled, stepping towards him. “Good for nothing bastard.” She glanced towards Rufus, one of the assistant medics. “Get over here, idiot,” she barked, gesturing towards the semi-conscious Rogue lying on the ground. 

“Oh, and after you take him to the infirmary,” she instructed, scribbling a note on a scrap of paper, “Give this note to him.”

Rufus nodded silently. “Rogue, can you get up?” He murmured, brushing a mop of hair out of Rogue’s face.

Rogue nodded weakly, reaching to Rufus for support. Together, they made their way out of the room and down the hall into the infirmary. Rufus let Rogue down on the closest hospital bed, before stepping into the supply closet and grabbing his medical supplies. As he was washing his hands, he said softly to Rogue, “Our lady wanted to give this to you.” He walked back to Rogue’s bedside, handing him a crumpled piece of paper. 

Rogue took it from him, uncrumpling it. 

Rogue-

Tomorrow we have a meeting at five at the seminar room. Afterwards, you’ll be training with Sting. Don’t let your wounds hold you down, or you’ll be sorry.

M

Rogue’s blood froze. Training with Sting?

Like last time, he was sure it wasn’t going to end well. He buried his face in his pillow, inhaling the sterile scent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be Fairy Tail-centric.   
> The Games will begin soon, so stay tuned! ;)
> 
> \--
> 
> Thank you for the kudos & kind feedback!


	6. The One Where Sabertooth Can't Get A Break, But Apparently Fairy Tail Can

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everybody's working hard, and each person struggles in their own way.

“We have two days before we depart. Good thing this year’s games will be hosted in Fiore,” Makarov announced to the sleepy audience. “Training will be optional for these two days-   
  


The crowd cheered loudly. 

 

“-and overtraining is strictly prohibited. Eat well and sleep well, kids. Take care of yourselves. Any questions regarding the Games?”

 

“Gramps!” Natsu called, waving a hand. “So… We can do anything we would like to for these two days?”

 

“Yes, Natsu,” Makarov replied, torn between mirth and uneasiness. “You may.”

 

Everybody began talking to one another about things they could do over the short break. Makarov shook his head in amusement, before getting up and heading towards his office. 

 

“Meeting adjourned,” he halfheartedly murmured. 

 

\--

 

“Do you need any water?” Rufus quietly asked Rogue. He had just finished dressing his wounds.

 

Rogue shook his head, eyes staring to nowhere. “Okay,” Rufus replied. “Let me know if you need anything.”

 

“On second thought, Rufus, could you get Sting for me? If he’s busy, tell him there’s nothing wrong, and that he can come find me later,” Rogue requested. “And if he does come, please leave us alone for a while. I need to talk to him about something.”

 

“Oh, sure thing,” Rufus replied. “I’ll go get him now. And I should mention that he can take you home if nothing’s hurtin’ too bad anymore.”

 

“Okay, that’s good. Thanks again, Rufus.”

 

“Anytime, Rogue.”

 

Rogue watched him walk out of the infirmary doors, before he closed his eyes and allowed himself to rest for a while, listening to the rhythmic ticking of the wall clock. 

 

“Rogue!” He was startled awake a while later, greeted by a familiar blonde idiot. “Man, we sure don’t get a break, do we?”

 

Rogue glanced up at Sting. “Never mind my injuries; they’re not that bad. But did Jiemma tell you-”

 

“-that we’re going to be training together tomorrow?” Sting finished his sentence. “Yes, unfortunately.”

 

“Well, what do you think we should do? He knows when we’re not fighting at full power. What the hell do we do? I don’t want to hurt you.” Rogue protested, arms crossed.

 

“I honestly don’t know,” Sting admitted, shrugging his shoulders. “We’ll think of something.”

 

“I hope we do,” Rogue croaked. “I can go home now, according to Rufus. Help me up, Sting.”

 

\--

 

“Gray, wanna go out and eat?” Natsu asked, lying on their bed. “I’m bored as hell.”

 

“... Natsu, we just got food downstairs,” Gray deadpanned. “How are you hungry?”

 

Natsu shrugged. “What do you want to do, then, if you’re so picky?”

 

“I want to sleep, to be honest with you,” Gray sighed. “Like, actually fall asleep for once.”

 

“You haven’t been sleeping much these days, have you?” Natsu stated. “Come here.” Natsu sighed, patting the spot next to him.

 

“I’ve been sleeping next to you every day for years. Do you really think that’s going to help now?” Gray grumbled, rubbing his eyes. 

 

“Oh, stop being stubborn and come here, droopy-eyed bastard,” Natsu growled, hauling Gray down by the hood of his jacket into his arms. He wrapped the blankets around a very unamused-looking Gray. “I know you get cold easily, and be grateful I’m taking care of you in the first place.”

 

“Gray, don’t worry about what’s going to happen in the future,” Natsu murmured, voice hushed down. “All that matters right now is you, getting rested up and taking care of yourself. You won’t be able to do anything well later no matter how hard you try if you don’t care for the present.” Natsu paused for a moment, carding a hand through Gray’s coarse dark hair. Gray didn’t say anything in response, just sunk down deeper into the blankets and buried his face into Natsu’s side. 

 

“All of us love you, and you really shouldn’t worry about anything right now-”

 

“I’m asleep now, please stop talking,” Gray grumbled, letting out a few exaggerated snores. Natsu chuckled, hearing the embarrassed undertones in his voice.

  
“Sure you’re asleep, Gray.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Perhaps I'll release a second chapter today, but that'll depend.  
> The Games are probably going to be introduced in a couple chapters or so.
> 
> \--
> 
> Thank you all so much for the kudos, and feedback is always welcome!


	7. The One Where Sting Gets Distracted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don't get distracted, kids, or you'll end up like Sting.

Sting glanced at Rogue across the table. Rogue avoided facing Sting, instead choosing to turn and rest his elbow on the backrest of his chair. 

 

“... and our trip to Fiore will go like that. Talk to me later if you have any questions. Meeting adjourned, you may all head off to training,” Jiemma concluded, nodding towards Sting and Rogue.

 

As the two of them silently headed downstairs to the training room, Sting took Rogue’s hand and squeezed it, before immediately dropping it. 

 

\--

 

Rogue was standing across from Sting on the training grounds.

 

“Get ready, both of you,” Jiemma called. “Begin.”

 

Rogue began sparring with Sting, their knives clashing. Sting’s movements were a bit slower than they usually were. 

 

“Fight harder! I want to see something interesting happen,” Jiemma cackled. “Harder!”

 

Rogue’s heart pounded as he continued to block Sting’s attacks.

 

“Rogue! Make a move already!” Jiemma barked.

 

The endless cycle of Jiemma’s taunts and Sting’s increasingly powerful attacks made Rogue’s head hurt. His own attacks were also becoming stronger, to counter Sting’s. 

 

With two breaks in between, the two of them fought for the rest of the day, neither of them really landing a single attack on the other. Minerva had entered the training room at some point and began monitoring the battle alongside Jiemma.

 

“You really got some nerve, fighting so weakly today, boys,” Minerva called, raising an eyebrow. “Perhaps I should give you some… incentive to work harder.”

 

Sting froze and turned to look at Minerva. Whenever Minerva- or Jiemma, for that matter, said that, it wouldn’t be pretty.

 

In that split second, Rogue felt his blade hit something he shouldn’t have touched. “Shit!” Rogue cursed. The blade was embedded in Sting’s side. Sting turned his head to face Rogue, his azure eyes meeting Rogue’s crimson eyes. Sting collapsed a few seconds later, losing consciousness. 

 

“Someone get the medic!” Rogue shouted. Neither Minerva nor Jiemma budged an inch. Rogue knew they wouldn’t listen to him, so he pulled out his phone and called Yukino. “Please pick up, please pick up,” Rogue pleaded. As he waited for her to pick up, he carefully laid Sting on the ground, making sure not to disturb the knife and the wound.

 

“Hey, Rogue, what’s up?”

 

“Yukino, please get here and bring all your medical supplies because Sting’s fucking injured-”

 

“-Where are you?”

 

“In the first training room!”

 

“I’ll get there as fast as possible. See you,” Yukino spoke into her cellphone quickly, before hanging up. After sending a quick message to Rufus, she grabbed the reserve medical supplies she kept in her own room and her keys and ran out of her room in her slippers, slamming the door shut behind her.

 

She ran downstairs, ignoring the elevator completely. She sprinted down the hallways, before running into the training room Rogue was in. 

 

“Rogue, get out of the way,” Yukino ordered, keeping her voice calm. Rufus came running in only a matter of seconds afterwards with a stretcher. Together, they got Sting onto the stretcher without displacing the knife. They got Sting to the infirmary, where Yukino washed out the wound with saline. Rogue watched anxiously as Yukino and Rufus exchanged a crossfire of medical talk afterwards.

 

“Rogue, we’re going to need a blood transfusion for him. What blood type is he?” Rufus asked.

 

“He’s A positive,” Rogue replied, fidgeting. “Take some blood from me, I’m O-negative. Please.”

 

“Yeah, sure, come with me. Yukino’s gonna take out the blade while I take some blood from you,” Rufus stated. 

 

_ The _ blade.  _ The  _ blade.  **_His_ ** blade. He was the one who stabbed Sting. All this was his fault for being stupid.

 

His mind was full of these thoughts while Rufus drew some blood from him.

 

“All done, thank you very much,” Rufus thanked. 

 

“It was the least I could do for him,” Rogue muttered.

 

When the two returned to where Yukino was treating Sting, the blade was lying in a tub of water, and the wound was all sutured up.

 

“You’re lucky the wound wasn’t too deep, and that it wasn’t any worse than that,” Yukino told Rogue. “He’s stable now, for the most part. His blood pressure’s a bit low, but after the blood transfusion, he should be fine. I just need to clean the wound off and get some bandages on there, then I’m done.”

 

“You might want this back,” Rufus stated, handing back the blade, which he had just cleaned.

 

Rogue stared at it. It was his favorite dagger, a beautiful katar with a bronze-colored handle. Now, looking at it made him feel sick. He shook his head. “I’ll donate it to the weapons reserve. Somebody else can have it.”

 

“Alright, I’ll leave it with you for now, and you can take it over when you would like to,” Rufus replied, setting the blade on a nearby table.

 

Yukino finished putting on the bandages, and threw away the wrappers. She headed towards a sink and washed her hands. “Rogue, stay here and monitor him. He should wake up soon, I used anesthesia on him when I took out the knife. If anything occurs, call me or Rufus. I’ll be back to redress the wound and check on his condition, but until then, you should watch over him.”

 

“I will definitely do that. Thank you both so much, I really…” Rogue faltered. “Thanks.”

 

Yukino smiled kindly at him. “Anytime, Rogue. I think I’ll go to bed now, I’m getting kind of tired. See you both later.”

 

“You can count on us!” Rufus joked. “Anyways, it really is getting kind of late now. I’ll go get us some food.”

 

Rogue shook his head. “Don’t have much of an appetite right now,” he murmured.

  
“Alright, if you do get hungry later, there are some snacks in the infirmary office. I’ll go back to my room now, and like Yukino said, if you need anything, call us. See you, Rogue.” Rufus walked out of the room, yawning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if the medical treatment isn't accurate. You're welcome to correct my mistakes!
> 
> \--
> 
> Thank you for the kudos~   
> Next chapter will probably be Fairy Tail centric, but who knows?


	8. The One Where Erza Is Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erza doesn't know what she should do anymore.

Natsu laughed rambunctiously as he dodged a soda that Gray tossed at him. 

 

“Natsu! Gray! Stop that!” Erza barked at the two of them, glaring. They stopped immediately, settling into seemingly normal conversation.

 

“I’ll get you back for that later,” Natsu muttered, smirking. 

 

“We’ll see about that, flame-brain,” Gray scoffed. “For now, wanna gather everyone and play something? I think everybody is done eating, for the most part.”

 

“Alright,” Natsu replied, pausing to think of a game. “Maybe we should do spin the bottle, or maybe truth or dare,” he deviously suggested, smiling. Gray shrugged.

 

“Hey everybody!” Natsu yelled. “Let’s play truth or dare.” Everyone groaned, but Natsu only grinned in reply. They slowly gathered in a large, uneven circle on the floor.

 

“I’ll start,” Gray stated, voice stony. “Natsu, truth or dare?”

 

“Dare,” Natsu replied.

 

“Hmm…” Gray thought. “Switch clothes with Erza.”

 

\--

 

The game had gone on for a while now, and at some point somebody had broken out some booze. 

 

“Erza, truth or dare?” Mirajane asked, smiling.

 

“Truth,” Erza replied.

 

“When did you have your first kiss?” Everybody held their breaths, waiting for her response.

 

“...I…When I was… When I was born, my mother kissed me on the forehead,” she stated, knowing that it wasn’t what Mirajane was implying. 

 

“No, she meant your first kiss with a non-family member!” Natsu called.

 

“I don’t want to say,” Erza blurted. 

 

“But you have to!” somebody yelled from the side. 

 

“Yeah!” Everybody agreed in unison, multiple sets of eyes boring holes into her.

 

“I never had one,” Erza lied. Then she walked out of the room, feeling quite unwelcome there. 

 

\--

 

Jellal sighed, lying on the couch. It was night time already, and the moon’s light shone between the slats of the blinds. 

 

Ultear and Meredy were quietly talking in the kitchenette, making some kind of dessert together.

 

“If you’re just going to stare like a pervert at us, you might as well go to Erza’s place and drool over her,” Ultear stated, smiling at Jellal.

 

“You’re right, I should go see her,” Jellal muttered. “But I shouldn’t bother her at a time like this.” 

 

Ultear snorted, and Meredy giggled. “Jellal,” Meredy sighed. “Erza doesn’t train 24/7, you know? She probably really misses you.”

 

“I’m going to see her in another day, I’ll wait to see her,” Jellal grumbled at Meredy, turning around on the couch so that his back was facing her. He covered his face with a pillow.

 

“Alright, suit yourself, Jellal~” Meredy sang, continuing her previous conversation with Ultear. 

 

\--

 

A knock came at the door. 

 

“Erza?” Gray’s voice was muffled by the door. “I know you’re in there.”

 

“Go away, Gray,” Erza growled. “I don’t need you to interfere with my thoughts right now.”

 

“I only want to ask you one question, and then I’ll leave,” Gray sighed.

 

“What, Gray?” 

 

“Why did you walk out on us like that? Usually you just brush off stupid questions like those,” Gray questioned. 

 

“Nothing’s wrong… I wasn’t feeling well,” Erza sighed. “Don’t worry about me, Gray, go home and get some rest.”

 

“I can tell when you’re lying,” Gray said patiently.

 

“I’m not. Now go home and sleep,” Erza replied calmly. “Oh, and tell Natsu that I’ll return his clothes tomorrow, before he departs for Fiore with you.”

 

“Sure,” Gray replied cooly. “‘Night, Erza.”

  
Erza buried her face in her blankets. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the very kind comments and the kudos!
> 
> \--
> 
> Next chapter will be Saber centric.


End file.
